Budget Camera

[IAN P]

I am looking to buy a camera for my trip to Sharm this year but not looking to break the bank. I was wondering if anyone can recommend a good camera and housing for approx £150 - £200 max.
Seen one on the internet called an Intove cp8 but can't find any reviews for it so if anyone has any experience of this camera, that might help.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Fiona]

I noticed this on the Divelife website the other day Fuji Z200 bundle (http://www.divelife.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=4022) might be worth a look.

[Hamish]

Hi Ian,

If you realy want to go cheep, cheep, then this may be the answer http://www.outdoorgb.com/p/snap_sights_sports_utility_flash_camera_ss01/ .

I saw these for the first time when I was in Taba and quite a few diving tourists did buy and use them. Dont ask me how good they were as I did not see the finnished artical, but you never know?

On the serious side it may be better to hold off until you can spend a little more rather than going for something that may not be what you really want. I have made the mistake in the past of buying what I could afford at the time, only to want somethng better and more expensive in the end.:(

regards

Hamish

[IAN P]

Has anyone had any experience of the Fuji Z200. Looked at the review and it looks good. Cheers for the advice guys.

[DiveandSeaTenerife]

Hiya

Just to let you know we have had 4 of the Intova 8's and below are my comments regarding this "budget" camera.

1/ As long as you dont take them deep, you should be ok. We have had 3 floodings all on deeper dive's 26- 34m.
2/ The O rings really do have to be replaced every few dives, or they will flood at just about any depth.
3/ Intova take absolutly no responsibilty for floodings at all. 2 of the cameras have been returned and "checked" and they stated nothing was wrong with them.
Strange considering we took them straight out, on there return, and they flooded again !!

What are your reasons for buying a camera?
If you dont use one often then consider hiring at the dive centre instead, this way all the fun and none of the risk!!

We are just swapping over to the Sealife camera's and so far...... they have been fantastic.
But they are more to purchase, however bear in mind if you flood 2 Intova's you could have brought a Sealife!

[Maria CM]

Have a look around second-hand - I bought a Fuji F30 and case for £150. Very robust and a great little camera.

best wishes,

Maria

[Eddie Clamp]

Have a look around second-hand - I bought a Fuji F30 and case for £150. Very robust and a great little camera.

best wishes,

Maria

When my Canon A620 case flooded last year I bought a second hand replacement on ebay for £30. Bought a replacement IXUS 85IS and case and gave the A620 to my wife. Now all I have to do is test the flooded case again and voila another camera. Do not tell the lovely Sue :D :rolleyes:

[Mark]

I am looking to buy a camera for my trip to Sharm this year but not looking to break the bank. I was wondering if anyone can recommend a good camera and housing for approx £150 - £200 max.
Seen one on the internet called an Intove cp8 but can't find any reviews for it so if anyone has any experience of this camera, that might help.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

If you are looking for something cheap for a single trip, then I'll agree with Maria.
A used camera and housing from eBay is a good idea.
You'll get a good camera for fraction of the new equivalent price...
Then, if indeed it's only for a single trip or so, you can sell it and get back close to what you paid... ;)

If underwater photography is really for you however, then I'm afraid to say it's a bottomless pit that you throw money into...


:)

[Maria CM]

When my Canon A620 case flooded last year I bought a second hand replacement on ebay for £30. Bought a replacement IXUS 85IS and case and gave the A620 to my wife. Now all I have to do is test the flooded case again and voila another camera. Do not tell the lovely Sue :D :rolleyes:

LOL

best wishes,

Maria

[ChristianG]

I am looking to buy a camera for my trip to Sharm this year but not looking to break the bank.
Did you have a look here (http://www.bsacforum.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=19809)?

[mt1red]

I am looking to buy a camera for my trip to Sharm this year but not looking to break the bank. I was wondering if anyone can recommend a good camera and housing for approx £150 - £200 max.
Seen one on the internet called an Intove cp8 but can't find any reviews for it so if anyone has any experience of this camera, that might help.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Just to throw in a curve ball, i got a camera from Aldi last year. Cost around £70 and is waterproof to 30m (although i know of one which has been to 50m on more than one occasion) and were a 5 megapixel camera. I think the name was travel life or similar. I've done 2 Egypt trips with it and plenty of "Local" diving. The pictures are not bad for such a cheap thing.

[Roz]

Before you bite the bullet, go and check out Cameras Underwater. They are based at London Embankment Station and I think are exhibiting at the London International Dive Show. If you after one-to-one personal advice you're better off visiting the shop as the show can be a bit of a bun fight.

Cameras Underwater are without doubt one of the key driving factors in getting people diving with cameras. They give you good simple advice and don't give you the hard sell of "you must buy this really expensive piece of kit to achieve XYZ". Instead they will look at your budget and help you.